Carl Amrhein has been named the new official administrator for Alberta Health Services (AHS) until June 30, 2015. Amrhein, who was serving his third term as Provost and vice-president academic at the University of Alberta, will be responsible for providing governance oversight of AHS. The official administrator is accountable to the minister of health. Current official administrator Janet Davidson will return to her role as deputy minister of Alberta Health.
U of A provost new admin for AHS
Carl Amrhein has been named the new official administrator for Alberta Health Services (AHS) until June 30, 2015.
Amrhein, who was serving his third term as Provost and vice-president academic at the University of Alberta, will be responsible for providing governance oversight of AHS.
The official administrator is accountable to the minister of health.
Current official administrator Janet Davidson will return to her role as deputy minister of Alberta Health.
Amrhein will take over as administrator immediately, but will return to the U of A when the position ends next year
The role of official administrator was created in 2013 to act in place of the AHS board of directors.
Pharmacists help reduce cardiovascular disease
A new province-wide research program will improve access to screening and treatment for cardiovascular diseases.
As part of the RxEACH program, pharmacists who have specialized training can identify patients with cardiovascular risk factors and initiate treatment and management strategies.
Depending on the patient's condition, pharmacists may refer them back to their physician for follow-up, adapt medications or recommend treatment, including changes to diet, exercise or wallet cards to track blood pressure.
“Most people at risk for heart attack and stroke have no symptoms, and people don't realize they're at risk until they have an event like a heart attack,” says Ross Tsuyuki, pharmacist and professor at the U of A.
Risk factors for cardiovascular disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking.
“Pharmacists can identify patients who might otherwise fall through the cracks,” says Tsuyuki.
So far, 110 pharmacists in Alberta have taken part in RxEACH's online education and training program.
Pharmacists are also enrolling patients with risk factors for heart disease or stroke into a study to determine if advanced pharmacy care has an impact on outcomes.
Participants are evenly divided into two groups. The first receives pharmacy-based advanced care, which includes a medication review, diet/exercise assessment, smoking cessation support and a computerized tool that calculates their risk of having a cardiovascular event in the next 10 years and how that risk can be reduced.
The other group receives standard care over a three-month period.
Both groups will be assessed at the end of the three months to determine if the risk of vascular disease was reduced in the advanced-care group. (Participants in the usual-care stream will then receive advanced care for three months.)
Shopper's Drug Mart in Citadel Village at 100 665 St. Albert Road is a participating RxEACH pharmacy.
